Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 36.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510,992 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 295,447 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.13% of Waste Management worth $103,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. L & S Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 14,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 26,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,302,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $2,095,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $2,428,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 171,776 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,663,000 after purchasing an additional 19,869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $11.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $225.34. The company had a trading volume of 4,183,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,472. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day moving average is $217.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.